


The Drift Runs Deep

by NightCur



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Newt is a hivemaster, Tendo's having a really bad day, There's a plot I swear, based on the Drift, basically it's a mass takeover, or something
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 18:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3219419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightCur/pseuds/NightCur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All it takes is one idiot to Drift with a Kaiju and suddenly, everyone is vulnerable.</p><p>Tendo and Stacker struggle to keep a frightened, but hardy Shatterdome under control as their own turn against them... all the while the existing threat of Kaiju idle by the Breach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Drift Runs Deep

"The Hansen's are going after the servers!" Nova screeched into his earpiece. "If the servers go down, we'll have no contact with the Cur."

"I know that," Tendo continued to run down the hall towards the service decks, his team closely behind.

_I should write a book… if I survive._

##  _5 hours earlier…_

Tendo Choi gritted his teeth as he shoved the colossal multi-coloured cable back into its housing, the surrounding consoles and screens powering up with a deep whir that was music to his ears. He stood back up from his crouch and wiped a hand across his brow.

Techs were now returning to their stations after the near-miss failed Drift. Tendo had been so _sure_ that both Mako and Raleigh would have had an easy time finding that groove that pilots find when working with each other. After seeing their rounds in the kwoon, he thought… maybe their experiences were just too much for each other.

Tendo retreated back around the front and centre console where most of the primary electrics were stationed, leaning his hip against a desk as he looked out the floor to ceiling windows overlooking Scramble Alley. Gipsy Danger was still in the middle of the bay, the giant hoists configured into the ceiling hooked onto the jaegers frame. Techs crawled around her shoulders like ants as they tested the hoists connections, arms waving as Tendo watched.

"Mr Choi," A deep voice pulled him from his thoughts, making him turn to see Marshal Pentecost striding back into LOCCENT with a deep set scowl and a look Tendo known as worn determination.

"Marshal," He greeted, nodding as he rounded his desk and started pushing buttons that would fire up the servers.

"How long before everything can be reset and be in working order?" Pentecost stood a respectful few metres away with his hands behind his back, looking over at Tendo as he hunched over the computer.

"We're looking at about an hour and half, sir," He reported. "Everyone's firing on all cylinders to get everything restored."

Pentecost nodded and watched as Breach scanner information returned to the larger screen just over Tendo's head. Slowly screens blinked and their previous programs were returned and rebooting. Chatter levels rose as techs underlined their problems to each other and tried to return everything to normal.

Tendo was accustomed to the sound of footfalls inside the large office-like space, but there was no mistaking the twins footfalls and clinking metal that belonged on the shin guards of the Hansen's boots. Tendo cast a cursory glance over his shoulder to see Herc and Chuck Hansen stalking towards the marshal with twin expressions of murderous intent.

"Marshal," Herc gritted his teeth, but obviously tried to keep his anger under control.

"Yeah, we wanna talk to you," Chuck sped up to be a step ahead of his father, face an unschooled mess of fury.

Tendo turned back to his computer, focusing on restoring the holo-screens by typing passwords he had to stop and think about for a second. This was none of his business, he was just the chief officer of LOCCENT; the only people had to deal with were his own underlings and pilots already inside Jaegers. Nope, not his department.

"We'll talk about this in my office, gentlemen," Tendo saw Pentecost turn and start to walk out. "We'll collect Mr Becket and Miss Mori on the way."

"Oh, sir," Tendo whipped his head around to ask, Pentecost half-turning with a raised eyebrow. "Now that power's coming back online, are the Southern Cur team okay to do a sim Drift?"

"Only once all systems are back, not a moment before," The man retreated with that, Herc and Chuck following behind him.

The Southern Cur was another Australian Jaeger that had been decommissioned a few weeks before Striker Eureka. The pilots had been brought back just before the Cur was due for disassembly and subsequent dumping in Oblivion Bay, but hadn't Drifted since. Tendo remembered the first time he met 'Fizz' Thorn and Isaac Miles; two young Aussies whom were both former Air Force dog handlers. Ah yes, the first time he met them, Fizz had been on a spree of pick-pocketing (she gave everything back, but sometimes at the price of candy or a favour), and he had been a victim. Tendo had found out about Fizz's little habit when he had complained his phone was missing when sitting down at dinner with Herc. Herc has stopped eating mid-chew and sighed. 

"We got a pilot who steals shit and blackmails ya for it," He swallowed before speaking, mouth set in a thin line. "Her name's Izzy Thorn, but she goes by Fizz."

"One of the Southern Cur pilots?" He had said. "How is she never caught?"

"No one knows," He shrugged. "We tried CCTV footage, but she's so clean it's impossible to prove if it's her."

That was when 'Fizz' Thorn had sat down beside him, legs facing out and back leaning against the picnic-style table. She had wide-set shoulders under the leather bomber she wore, a mop of short brown hair on her head. She greeted Herc and reached into the hip pocket of her deep blue flight suit, which was tied at the waist. She flashed Tendo's phone in his face before putting it away and smiling innocently. 

"I like lollies," She said and walked away. Tendo followed her retreat with his eyes, noticing a man similarly dressed in a navy blue flight suit and leather bomber, revealing the Southern Cur logo on the back as he turned.

Tendo turned back to Herc with a dumb-struck expression. "What… is a lolly?"

Herc smirked as he picked at his dinner. "If you think that's bad, you should see the 'tributes' the crews give her on a monthly basis."

He had eventually got the phone back after leaving a packet of cheap candy he bought in a market in the Cur crew's station. His phone had been returned by a Cur crew member with an annoyed expression, and on further inspection Tendo found out most settings had been changed.

 

The systems were back online for the entire Shatterdome in under an hour. Tendo stood at a tech's desk with a fresh cup of coffee, two other mugs cooling at his own desk. He floated around the room as he checked each stations progress and made sure each tech had work to go on with.

"Commander, the Cur pilots are in the sim chambers, do they have go?" A pretty female tech asked as he again reached his desk.

"Yes they do," He sat down and pulled his headset mic into a better position. "Tell them I'm bringing it up on the big screen."

"Yes sir," She scurried off and Tendo went about pulling up the programs and camera feeds to put up on the big screen.

It all started out normal and routine, just two Drift partners training, but within a real Drift. It was something Mako was never exposed to because of a lack of matches, Tendo lamented.

He ran through most of the drills with them, but something seemed to go wrong at the end. On his personal camera feed, both pilots suddenly jerked at the same time. He scowled and checked their vitals, only to see everything was exactly in tune. Tendo blinked, not believing what he was seeing. He had seen damn-near synchronicity, but nothing, absolutely nothing like what he was now witnessing. 

Their heart beats were exactly aligned, as were their breathing patterns, all movements within a millimetre of their partner.

"Are these scans right?" He called back.

"Yes, sir," A tech called. "We synced the settings a few moments ago and it's the same!"

Murmurs rose as the pilots continued with their sim, fighting a kaiju that wasn't really there. The Southern Cur pilots were fitted with gunmetal blue armour, a white Southern Cross emblazoned across their hearts. Due to their history of both being air force dog handlers, the pair had helmets with tabs extending over the visors like dog teeth, the back also had panels that looked like laid back ears.

"What's going on, Choi?" Tendo started as Pentecost strode into the room, noticeably calm but Tendo could tell he was pissed about something. That meeting with the Hansen's must have been most explosive than he thought.

"The Cur pilots have reached synchronicity levels we have never seen before," He pulled up a larger camera feed to show what he meant. Both Fizz and Isaac drove a punch with the same reach, landing a solid blow to the virtual kaiju's jaw and making it fall back into the water of virtual Sydney Harbour. Placing the sim in the pilots' home turf was to ease them back into everything, but Tendo was wondering is it easing them too much. Three times had the pilots helped defend the Pacific Rim from kaiju, the decommissioning of their jaeger the only set back.

"Is that a problem?" Pentecost asked.

"Well, we were sure that it couldn't even happen, so we're kinda concerned on some planes," Tendo reached up to his ear and toggled the switch that turned his mic on. "Southern Cur, come in."

No answer came even after the virtual kaiju was struck with a killing blow. Both pilots paused for a second with fists raised, then stood in a neutral 'ready' position.

"Cur, come in," He repeated. "Is everything okay?"

The line was quiet as the pilots continued to stand still, staring forward and not moving a muscle. The entire room of techs were looking directly at the big screen where Fizz and Isaac's vitals were still eerily the same, receding in sync as their bodies calmed from the exercise. Their heart rates ticked down steadily, number by number, each digit changing the same time as the partner's.

"I want them out," Pentecost said. "I want a medical team at the door now."

"Yes, sir," Tendo all but whispered. He swallowed as he began to arrange everything, calling for the techs in the sim chambers to disconnect and shut down the programs.  
He was half way through calling the medical teams when he noticed the pilots were still standing there in the camera feeds. He finished his brief call with medical and set up a line down to the sim techs.

"I thought I said to disconnect?"

"We have, sir," A worried voice said. "They're not snapping out of it- oh god!"

His gaze snapped back to the feed to see medical coming through the sim chamber doors, the pilots shucking the harnessing and moving with speed Tendo thought impossible with cumbersome Drive suits. Fizz and Isaac both pushed and kicked the four-man team over in their hast of leaving the chamber.

"Bring up the hallway feeds!" He yelled.

The hallway cameras were brought up in a line across the big screen, Tendo standing up suddenly as shock washed over him. The Cur pilots were running at a break-neck pace down the hall, Fizz ripping her helmet from her head and throwing it at a Strike Trooper.

"Miles, come in," Tendo pulled his headset mic closer, not bothering with Fizz as her helmet was now on the floor. "Stop immediately and report."

"I want a Strike team down there to stop them," Pentecost practically growled. A tech yelled out confirmation, but Tendo was awestruck as the Australians thundered through a doorway and into one of the main corridors, pushing brutally past everyone using the hallway. Tendo saw a man try to stop them, but Isaac simply stuck an armoured arm out to clothesline the man without slowing.

"Bring up all feeds," Pentecost yelled. "I want to see everything!"

A tiny section of the various feeds revealed a Strike team coming down the same corridor that the pilots were heading down. The pair stopped dead when they saw the wall of black-suited soldiers moving steadily towards them, the two taking a few steps backwards before turning around and taking an alternate route. Tendo smirked as another force came down the hall they had choose, making the pair freeze.

"Take them to the brig," Pentecost said, a slight smile almost evading detection.

The smile slipped from his face though as Isaac tried to rip at his armour, managing to free his helmet and stare blankly into the camera directly above the pair. One swift throw and the feed was cut.

"Sergeant, come in," Pentecost said, fingers pinching another of the opposite hand behind his back. "What is happening down there?"

Moments passed in tense silence. Tendo nervously picked at his rosary, trying to keep his breathing calm as he twisted the small wooden beads.

The next section of cameras captured Fizz and Isaac walking slowly down the hall, Drive suits splattered in dark splotches, the best the black and white cameras could manage.   
"Where are they going…" Tendo muttered under his breath, face a little paler, as he pictured a mental map as he watched them weave through hallways. His eyes grew wide as they headed for one of the docking bays. "Lock down the building!"

Pentecost gave him a sharp look for such an order, but backed him up, calling the order again. Soon, all Shatterdome exits were on lockdown.

"What the hell has gotten into them?" Pentecost gritted his teeth at the screen.

"Sir!" Yelled a new voice, a tech in charge of response distribution among other things. "We have unauthorised presence in the lower service decks!"

"They couldn't have gotten down there-"

"It's Mako and Becket," Pentecost's arms grew noticeably tight as a camera showed two people stared right into the lens with eerily calm and blank expressions. Mako and Raleigh.

That's the last thing he saw just as Mako pulled a heavy switch and all lights and feeds went dark.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to keep this updated, so leave a comment or some kudos if you like it!
> 
> Fizz and Isaac were introduced as filler characters because I didn't want to take away from the canon pilots, so forgive the filler characters and chapter!


End file.
